Blue Trust Inc. Has $129,000 Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,246,000 after buying an additional 417,741 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $9,041,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,205,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,783,000 after acquiring an additional 289,014 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.74.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.